Test Administration Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

1. Test Administration Accommodations for Students with Disabilities October 2007

2. Overview • Review five steps regarding the selection, implementation, and evaluation of test administration accommodations • Review Georgia’s policies regarding accommodation use • Answer questions

3. Historical Perspective of Accommodations • Prior to IDEA 97, students with disabilities were not always included in mandated assessments • Often, they were “coded out” if they did participate • With IDEA 97 the focus was on inclusion, with accommodations serving as the vehicle • Limited consideration of the impact of accommodations on the validity of the test results

4. Historical Perspective of Accommodations • With NCLB and IDEA 04 the focus has switched toward meaningful (i.e., valid) measurement • Federal regulations require states develop policy and monitor appropriate accommodation use • Allowable accommodations must result in valid measures of student achievement • States must provide such evidence

5. STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN ASSESSMENTS • The participation of students with disabilities in assessments is required by the following federal and state laws: • No Child Left Behind (NCLB) • Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) • Georgia Statute 20-2-281 and State Board of Education Rules

6. Accommodations Manual :5 IMPORTANT STEPS • Expect students with disabilities to achieve grade level academic content standards • Learn about accommodations for instruction and assessment • Select accommodations for individual students • Administer accommodations during instruction and assessment • Evaluate and improve accommodation use

7. Step 1 Expect Students with Disabilities to Achieve Grade Level Academic Content Standards

8. 3 CONDITIONS FOR HIGH EXPECTATIONS • Teachers qualified to teach content areas and who know how to differentiate instruction for diverse learners • IEPs that provide specialized instruction (e.g., reading strategies, study skills) • Accommodations which increase access to instruction and assessment

9. EQUAL ACCESS TO GRADE LEVEL CONTENT • Remember that equal access to grade level content is the goal • Every IEP team member must be familiar with state and district content standards and where to locate standards • Collaboration between general and special educators is key

10. INCLUDE ALL STUDENTS IN INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENTS • To include all students in standards-based instruction and assessments: • Provide accommodations during instruction and assessment to increase access • Follow state guidelines for decisions about the provision of accommodations

11. Step 2 Learn about Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment

12. Accommodations • Accommodations allow access.. • They are practices and procedures in the areas of presentation, response, setting, and scheduling that provide equitable instructional and assessment access for students with disabilities. • Accommodations reduce or eliminate the effects of a student’s disability • Accommodations donot reduce or change learning expectations

13. Modifications • Modifications, on the other hand, involve: • Changing, lowering, or reducing learning or assessment expectations • May result in implications that could adversely affect a student throughout that individual’s educational career • Examples include • Requiring a student to learn less material • Revising assignments or tests to make them easier

14. Test Administration Accommodations • Accommodations provide access for demonstration of achievement • Allow participation • Do not guarantee proficiency • and therefore should not be selected solely as mean to help ensure proficiency • Must be required by the student in order to participate in the assessment • Must be provided during routine instruction and assessment in the classroom (both before and after the state test is administered)

15. Test Administration Accommodations • Some accommodations appropriate for instruction are not appropriate for assessments • The ultimate goal is always meaningful measurement of what the student has learned as a result of instruction

16. Target Skills v Access Skills • Target Skills: those skills and concepts the test is designed to measure • Access Skills: those needed by the student to demonstrate knowledge and application of the target skills Accommodations do not alter target skills.

17. Accommodations • Different tests serve different purposes • Accommodations may be allowed for one test, but not for another…it has to do with the test’s purpose and what is it designed to measure • Two types of accommodations • Standard • Conditional

18. Accommodations In Georgia accommodations MAY NOT • alter, explain, simplify, paraphrase, or eliminate any test item, reading passage, writing prompt, or choice option • provide verbal or other clues or suggestions that hint at or give away the correct response to the student

19. Step 3 Select Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment

20. Documenting Accommodations • Accommodations can be documented in 3 areas of the IEP • Consideration of Special Factors—assistive technology devices and services • Supplementary Aids and Services / Student Supports —aids, services, and other supports • Participation in Assessments—how a student will participate in state and district-wide assessments

21. Selecting Accommodations • Do not … check off every accommodation available on the IEP form, hoping something will work • Do … be very specific stating which accommodations will be used for which tests and subtests (disabilities can be content specific)

22. Selecting Accommodations • Do not … provide accommodations for the first time on test day • Do not … assume an accommodation will meet the needs of the student • Do … allow students time to try out different accommodations • Do … include the student in the consideration of accommodations

23. Selecting Accommodations • Do not … assume that because an accommodation is used during instruction it is OK to use on state assessments • Do … always refer to the Student Assessment Handbook for allowable accommodations and each test’s Examiner’s Manual for additional information

24. Selecting Accommodations • Do not … write general statements about accommodations in IEPs or IAPs, such as: • “Student will use conditional or non-standard accommodations” • “Student may have the same accommodations provided during instruction” • Do … be specific, listing the accommodations required based on individual need, remembering that only state-approved accommodations may be considered

25. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER • Within the Accommodations Manual there are several questions IEP teams should consider, such as: • What are the student’s learning strengths and needs? • How do the student’s learning needs affect the achievement of grade level content standards? • What specialized instruction (e.g., learning strategies, organizational skills, reading skills) does the student need to achieve grade level content standards? • What accommodations will increase the student’s access to instruction and assessment by reducing the effects of the disability?

26. REVIEW CURRENT ACCOMMODATIONS • What accommodations are currently used by the student during instruction and for assessments? • What are results for assignments and assessments when accommodations were used and not used? • Are there effective combinations of accommodations? • What difficulties did student experience when using accommodations? • What is the student’s perception of how well accommodations worked? • What are perceptions of parents, teachers and specialists about how well accommodations worked?

27. OF THE ACCOMMODATIONS THAT MATCH THE STUDENT’S NEEDS, CONSIDER • The student’s willingness to learn to use the accommodation • Opportunities to learn how to use the accommodation in classroom settings • Conditions for use on state assessments

28. PLANNING USE OF NEW ACCOMMODATIONS • Plan how a student will learn to use each new accommodation • Be certain there is sufficient time to learn to use instructional and assessment accommodations before test day • Plan for the ongoing evaluation and improvement of accommodations use

29. INVOLVE STUDENTS • Involve students in selecting, using, and evaluating accommodations • The more input students have in selecting their accommodations, the more likely the accommodations will be used • Students should see accommodations as adding value to their daily lives

30. Step 4 Administer Accommodations during Instruction and Assessment

31. COORDINATING THE LOGISTICS • Accommodations must be used during instruction • Logistics of providing the accommodations must be mapped out • Prepare for the implementation of accommodations prior to, on, and after day of assessment.

32. PRIOR TO DAY OF ASSESSMENT • Be certain test administrators and proctors know the accommodations that must be provided to individual students • Accommodation forms and databases can be used to monitor the implementation of accommodations on day of assessment • Where will a student with “extended time” accommodation continue assessment? Where will a student who requires a “read to” accommodation take assessment? (Remember – the vast majority of students will only have the questions read) • Know how to administer accommodations

33. FOLLOWING THROUGH ON DAY OF ASSESSMENT • Test administrators must understand the importance of: • Standardization: uniform procedures for all using the same accommodation • Ethical Testing Practices: eliminating inappropriate interaction between the test administrator and the student(s) • Test security: ensuring the confidentiality of test questions and answers

34. Step 5 Evaluate and Improve Accommodations Use

35. WHY EVALUATE ACCOMODATIONS USE? • To ensure the meaningful participation of all students in state and district-wide assessments • To reveal questionable patterns of accommodations use • To identify IEP/504 team members, test administrators, or others in need of additional training and support

36. QUESTIONS TO GUIDE EVALUATION AT THE STUDENT LEVEL • What is the student’s perception of how well the accommodation worked? • What seem to be effective combinations of accommodations? • What are the difficulties encountered in the use of accommodations for a student? • What are the perceptions of teachers and others about how the accommodation appears to be working?

37. QUESTIONS TO GUIDE EVALUATION AT THE STUDENT LEVEL • What accommodations are used by the student during instruction and on assessments? • What are the results of classroom assignments and assessments when accommodations are/are not used? If student is not demonstrating expected performance level, did student have access to instruction in assessed content, receive the accommodation(s), or was the accommodation(s) not effective?

38. QUESTIONS TO GUIDE EVALUATION AT THE SCHOOL OR SYSTEM LEVEL • Are there policies to ensure standardized and ethical assessment administration and that test security practices are followed before, during, and after assessment? • Are there procedures to ensure assessment administration procedures are not compromised with the provision of accommodations? • Are students receiving accommodations as documented in the IEP and 504 plans?

39. QUESTIONS TO GUIDE EVALUATION AT THE SCHOOL OR SYSTEM LEVEL • Are there procedures in place to ensure test administrators adhere to directions for the administration of accommodations? • How many students are receiving accommodations? • What types of accommodations are provided and are some used more that others? • What are the results for students when accommodations are used? If students are not demonstrating expected level of performance, did students have access to instruction in assessed content? Was the accommodation effective?

40. What’s new for 2007 – 2008? • IEP teams may only consider state-approved accommodations • Federal regulations specify that students participating with unapproved accommodations may not be considered participants for AYP purposes • The list of approved accommodations separates the reading of reading passages from the reading of test questions

41. Conditional Accommodations • More expansive accommodations that provide access for students with more severe disabilities who would not be able to access the assessment without such support and demonstrate their achievement • Should be used sparingly, per State Board Rule • Must be considered when interpreting scores

42. Conditional Accommodations • For students with disabilities, there are three accommodations that are considered conditional for the CRCT: • Signing reading passages • Oral reading of reading passages • Use of a basic function calculator • There are no approved conditional accommodations for the GHSGT or EOCT

43. Conditional Accommodations • Guidance on the appropriate use of conditional accommodations is provided in the Student Assessment Handbook and the Accommodations Manual • Only students meeting the guidance criteria are eligible for conditional accommodations

44. Why must we attend to the guidance for conditional accommodations? • These accommodations were never intended to be available for all students. • The guidance is designed to protect the accommodations for students who truly require them.

45. Why must we attend to the guidance for conditional accommodations? • Anytime an accommodation is considered it is important to reflect what the test is designed to measure. • The goal is meaningful (i.e., valid) measurement of student achievement • It is important to consider the long term effects of inappropriate accommodation use. • Accommodations should foster independence, not dependence

46. Consider the ‘Constructs’ • The Reading CRCT is designed to measure reading comprehension. • Inherent in the state curriculum in the elementary and middle grades are reading strategies and skills. • The Mathematics CRCT is designed to measure computational skill and mathematical understanding. • Inherent in the state curriculum in the elementary and middle grades are mathematics procedures and processes.

47. Guidance for Reading of Reading Passages • The use of this conditional accommodation for the Reading CRCT should be restricted to grades 3 – 8 and may be considered when the following conditions apply: • The student has a specific disability that severely limits or prevents him or her from decoding text at any level of difficulty, even after varied and repeated attempts to teach the student to do so (i.e. the student is a non-reader, not simply reading below grade level); • The student has access to printed materials only through a reader or other electronic format during routine instruction.

48. Why is reading of passages restricted to grades 3 – 8? • Students in the primary grades are learning to read • The curriculum standards in these grades include decoding and fluency – these things are completely compromised when the student does not read • It is imperative that we have a clean, accurate measure of student reading skill so that problems can be identified and appropriate services provided if needed

49. Reading of Test Questions • Most students who need accommodations are struggling readers (e.g., read below grade level). • Reading of the questions reducing the reading load and allows the student to focus on the passages • Each test has a range of passages on it • Given that we are not attempting to measure reading comprehension on other content area tests (ELA, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies), it is permissible to read any prompts that accompany the items. • This should only be done when appropriate

50. Use of a Basic Function Calculator • The use of this conditional accommodation may be considered for the Mathematics CRCT when the following conditions apply: • The student has a specific disability that severely limits or prevents her or his ability to calculate mathematically, even after varied and repeated attempts to teach the student to do so; • The student has access to mathematical calculation only through the use of a calculator, which the student uses for classroom instruction. • Only a basic function calculator or function adapted calculator may be used.